1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a skip function of an image reproducing apparatus, which can handle a recording medium detachable with respect to the device such as an optical disk, and a recording medium built in the device such as hard disk, at the same time.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, there has recently been developed an image reproducing apparatus that can handle a recording medium detachable with respect to the device, for example, an optical disk such as DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-RAM (Random Access Memory) and DVD-RW (Re Writable), and a recording medium built in the device such as hard disk, having high-speed recording and reproduction speed and a large capacity, at the same time.
This type of image reproducing apparatus inherently has a possibility of providing users various new functions, which have never been realized with a conventional reproducing apparatus, by organically uniting an advantage that the optical disk has and an advantage that the hard disk has. Hence, it is currently strongly desired to improve this type of image reproducing apparatus in fine details, so that it becomes more convenient and there is no problem.
For example, at the time of recording and reproducing a TV program or the like in a recording medium, there is generally used a skip function in which commercial portions included in the picture such as this TV program or the like are skipped, at the time of reproduction, with one skip key operation, for example, in a VTR (video tape recorder). It is a function that utilizes the fact that the time required for commercials is normally in a unit of 15 seconds or 30 seconds, and for example, in order to skip a commercial time of 90 seconds, by pressing the skip key three times, a skip of 90 seconds, which is three times as long as 30 seconds, is performed. As a result, it becomes possible to watch a movie or the like without being interrupted by a commercial or the like, with a simple skip key operation.
In the case where there is a commercial during reproduction of a TV program, however, if a user notices that there is a commercial, and performs this skip key operation of this skip function, there is generally an operation delay of several seconds. As a result, there is a problem in that the timing of the TV program to be reproduced after the skip causes a delay of several seconds.